Visual Reminders for Prophesying

Over the last fortnight I have taught the teenagers (ages 13-15) in our church’s Teen Leadership Academy. Some of these teenagers have grown up in our church and have had numerous teaching on the prophetic before and have also been involved in giving numerous prophetic words to people. Others were brand new to hearing God’s voice.

Our aim was to help these teens not only hear God for themselves but also for others. A secondary aim was to invite these teens to release prophetic words to individuals after our church service along with the adult prophetic team.

After we had looked at hearing God’s voice for ourselves, I concentrated on hearing God’s voice for others. To help introduce the purpose and aims of prophesying to others, I gave each teen a ‘goodies’ bag. These bags had eight items in them. They were a huge hit!! Visual cues help reinforce our teaching point so much more effectively.

These items were:

  1. Heart shaped sunglasses

So important to have love as the basis for communicating God’s heart to others.

  1. Packet of very sour & very sweet lollies

When we are prophesying to others, we want to leave a ‘sweet’ taste in their mouth. We do not want to leave a sour taste.

  1. Candle

When we prophesy, we want to light a fire within them that burns for what we have communicated.

  1. Gold medal

Each person has their own race to run and must run their race. The medal symbolised us enabling them to see, through our prophesying, what their race is that they are called to run and finish.

  1. Water pistol

When we prophesy, we are called to hit the target that God has placed on their life.

  1. Australian Tattoo

We are Australian. That is who we are. An Australian tattoo symbolises our identity.  Part of prophesying is calling people into their full identity as sons and daughters of God.

  1. Ring

Another part of prophesying is helping people to realise their full authority. The ring symbolises the ring the Father placed on the prodigal son. This means having full identity and authority as the Father’s child.

  1. Key attached to a (photocopied) computer ESC key

(This was a stretch but all I could think of that communicated the acronym ‘ESC’). 1 Corinthians 14:3 says that all prophecy should be encouraging, strengthening and comforting.

The teens loved it and the following week could remember all the objects they had received in their bag.

What are your thoughts?

What are some other items you may have included to help them remember what prophesying over others is about?

I would love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to comment or let me know.

 

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Have gold/yellow cardboard precut to look like a medal. Punch a hole in it and thread cord through it so that it looks like a winners medal. Have pens/pencils handy. Ask each person to make a medal for themself about what God says that they are the winner for in Heaven and here on earth. If time, ask them to make one for someone else, asking God what that person’s purpose is here on earth or the race they will win at running.

2. Group Activation: Have sheets of A4 paper and pens/textas handy. Distribute a sheet of paper to everyone. Ask them to place their name in the middle of the page followed by the word ‘is’. eg ‘Jane is’. Then ask everyone to give their paper to the person on their left. This person will write one sentence that they sense, hear or see from God about who that person is. Then ask everyone to keep passing the paper around to the people on their left until at least everyone’s sheet of paper has at least ten sentences on it about who they are, their identity. Return the sheets to their owners. Maybe even have someone speak the sentences over each person as the papers are returned to their rightful owner.

3. Beginner Activation: Spend some time with God asking Him to show or tell you how He sees you dressedAs you begin to hear or see or sense what it is, then ask God further questions. Eg Why am I dressed that way? Is this how I am seen in Heaven? What is on my head? What would you like to put in my right hand God? etc

4. Intermediate Activation: Find a community group that is struggling in its identity. Ask God for a prophetic word about this group’s identity. Ask God how to most effectively release that word to the group.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God for a prophetic word for your nation’s first people and their future. Ask God what He would like you to then do with that prophetic word. Then do it.

Growing our Faith

faithIn living a natural supernatural life, it is important to grow your faith to believe that God can, and will, do anything. I have prayed for God to heal someone of cancer and they received complete healing. I have also seen my mother die of cancer but I haven’t let that deter me. I have seen a man’s eyesight restored. I have seen a lady healed of needing a heart lung transplant. Perhaps the greatest miracle I have seen is for people to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour.

I recently found up a journal entry I wrote last year about the day before and what had occurred. I am including it here so that you can see an example of believing that God can do the impossible. Lastly, I have listed numerous ways that I grow my faith.

What do you do to grow your faith and the belief that God can, and will, do the impossible?

 

***(Beginning of Journal Entry)***

Believing anything is possible

Hubby and I were in bed last night chatting after a full day of church, hanging out with friends and ministry. Hubby commented on how it was exciting to be in a church where one of the cultural values (whether anyone realises it or not is another question as it is an unwritten and unspoken value) is that of believing that anything is possible with God. Not just believing it, but actively pursuing it.

Core Value:

As we reflected on this more, I realised that whenever we want to see the supernatural become our natural lifestyle, this has to be a core value. That God can and will do anything and that anything is possible with God.

Miracle – an illiterate person able to read the Bible

Yesterday morning in church, we heard an amazing testimony from one of our church members who was ministering in Cambodia. An old village woman had become a Christian and 3 days later wanted to be able to read the Bible but had never had the opportunity to go to school. She heard a testimony from some other people who had supernaturally been given the ability to read the Bible. This lady was prayed for by those people and within 20 minutes or so the lady could read the Bible.

Testimony:

Last night were having a meal with friends and reflecting on the testimonies we hear in church. Most of these testimonies come from the Healing Rooms we are part of. I was voicing that I am a bit tired of hearing about the back pain and the neck aches being healed. Sure, it is a big thing for those people but what about the exciting stuff we see of cancer being healed, eye sight restored, the time I prayed for the lady in hospital who no longer needed a heart lung transplant etc. I then shared how our family had experienced some amazing healings – anaphylaxis, teeth miracles – no longer needing fillings or a root canal etc.

Creative Miracle:

My friend then expressed how she has been waiting for 9 years for a huge creative miracle. Straight away I knew we had to pray for her in this area. So we did. In the natural, it seems completely impossible but with God anything is possible. We joined our faith with hers and her husband’s faith. There were a couple of prophetic acts I asked her to do as I felt they were an important step. A huge step of healing had already been overcome by our friend sharing this unusual and personal issue with us.

Prophetic Act:

In asking my friend to do a certain prophetic act, I was reminded of at least 7 years ago when I was at a ladies’ camp and I really felt to pray for a lady with a thyroid issue who had bulging eyes. This lady at the same time approached me and asked me to pray for her. As I waited briefly to hear from God, I sensed that I was to spit on my hands and place them over her eyes. I was relatively new to praying for physical healing for people and was aghast. “What would the lady think?” As I shared this with the lady, she became very excited. She shared how she had asked God to heal her and that she had told God that she would know if it was going to happen or not if the person praying for healing spat on their hands and placed their hands over her eyes. I learnt a huge lesson that night to be obedient to what God wants you to do.

God is at work:

When we left our friend’s home, nothing had appeared to have occurred in the way of a creative miracle for this lady but something had shifted in the spiritual. I totally believe that God can do this seemingly impossible creative miracle of growing body parts that are no longer there. I also knew that God was at work since we also prayed for my back pain from a pulled muscle that was causing me some incapacity. The pain completely disappeared and I could move freely.

I know that God will come through for this beautiful friend and her miraculous testimony will be huge in her future ministry that she will have in changing teenagers lives and perceptions.

God is in the business of the impossible.

*** (end of Journal entry)*** (Addit – today, yes, this very day, I received a text from my friend saying that the huge supernatural creative miracle had occurred in her body!!)

 

Align your mind:

If you need help in this area, I encourage you to take a Bible verse from the list below. If you believe the Bible is the Word of God, then meditating on the Bible and verses from it, will help your mind align to what God wants to do.

Bible verses:

  • Job 42:1- 2 Then Job replied to the Lord, “I know that you can do all things, no plan of yours can be thwarted.”
  • Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
  • Matthew 17:20 Jesus replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
  • Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible.”
  • Mark 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
  • Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
  • Luke 1:37 “For nothing is impossible with God.”

Turn these verses into a declaration that you can declare regularly eg “Thank you God that nothing is impossible for you. Thank you, God that you say in your Word that whatever I ask for in prayer and believe that I have received, it will be mine. Father God, I now thank you for giving me (answer to my prayer) and believe that You will give it to me because nothing is impossible for you Father God. Thank you, God.”

 

Ways I grow my faith:

  • Blessing my spirit. I call my spirit to attention and bless it with increased faith. I bless it with knowing beyond a doubt that Father God can, and will, do the impossible. That Father God specialises in making the impossible the possible.
  • Personally experiencing miracles and healing. Thus, I need to position myself in places where I will see miracles. I see them in our Healing Rooms where our family are team members. I saw them when I took my family with two young kids to Mozambique for three months. It can be costly to position ourselves but do it if you want to grow your faith.
  • Studying the Bible and what it says about faith, healing, God.
  • Surrounding myself with people of great faith, who know the Bible and live by the promises in the Bible.
  • Listening to great teaching about the promises in the Bible.
  • Worshipping God – giving Him glory and worth.
  • Spending time with God asking Him the hard questions and growing in intimacy with Him.
  • Prayer ministry has been another way that has helped me to see some faulty beliefs that I had about God. When I now react in a manner that is inappropriate to a situation eg get angry, I try to take a few minutes to ask God, “Father God, can you please show me why I acted that way. What lie am I believing? After I have my answer, and confess that lie/belief to God, I then ask God, “What truth do you want me to know instead?”
  • Our identity is so important. We defeat our internal giants first before we take on external ones. Going on a journey of discovering my true identity.
  • We need to become the person God sees us as – claiming & possessing our internal territory.
  • What we say with our words. I try to be very careful about the things I say as the words we speak have power to create. Isaiah 55:11 says “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Where are you currently at in believing for the impossible? Believing with such a certainty, not just that it would be great but a total belief that God can and will do anything.

 

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Gather paper with pictures on them (eg an old calendar, scrapbooking supplies etc). Distribute the paper around the room, making sure you have enough for each person to choose a sheet. Ask people to get into pairs and then walk around looking at the pictures. When they see a picture that stands out to them or they like, pick up the picture and find their partner. Ask God to show or tell them what the picture represents for their partner or what God wants to say to their partner through the picture. Give their partner the picture to take home.

2. Group Activation: Contact a ministry like ‘Voice of the Martyrs’ for the details of how to support a person imprisoned for their christian faith. Gather blank postcards and pens. Distribute to group members to ask God what to write or draw on the postcard as a prophetic word to encourage and comfort the prisoner. (Leave room for a postage stamp in the top right corner). Gather the completed postcards and send to the ministry to enable them to be posted to the prisoner.

3. Beginner Activation: Ask God which food He sees you like or that represents you and what it is about that particular food that relates to you. Spend time asking God more questions about that particular food item and how it applies to yourself.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to bring a homeless person across your path and what you can say, give and do. Ponder this so that you are ready with a physical item to assist them. If no homeless person comes across your path, go out of your way to find someone homeless.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask Father God to highlight a group that you are a part of and that group’s future. Prophecy into the future of the group and the people it interacts with.

Our Authority in Healing

AuthorityImagine your dad owned a huge company that employed many people. Over many years, your dad has been trying to implement a new method of operating. He has completed just about all the background work and it is nearly ready for the big day when it is going to be officially implemented.

You have spent a lot of your time just hanging around your dad whilst he had been working on it.

You weren’t an employee, you were the boss’s kid and so you had free reign where you went and what you did.

You loved the smell of your dad’s office and being with Him whilst He worked. He often talked aloud of what He was doing and you were passionate about what He was doing since you just loved being with Him. Your dad included you in the brainstorming of the solutions to problems. Your dad often allowed you to implement the changes.

The big day arrives and unexpectedly your dad can’t make the official opening. He asks you instead, as His representative, to be there as His delegated authority.

You know the workings of it nearly as much as He does because of all the time you have spent with Him and the intimacy of the working conditions.

Your dad has complete faith and trust in you. He knows that you understand what is required to be done and how to solve many of the issues. Thus, he delegates his authority to you.

 

Now take a moment to imagine this is God and He is asking you to heal the sick,

cast out demons, raise the dead, change nature. What is your response?

 

Knowing our authority and the manner in which we walk in it can change our life. It impacts the way we pray, how we pray, what we say, our actions, our lifestyle. In fact, it can completely change how we live our life.

 

Authority is delegated power.

 

Jesus has complete authority and He gave us authority to do whatever He did plus more. (John 14:12)

From the Bible, we see that:

  1. Man’s original commission – Genesis 1:28. God commanded Adam & Eve to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth. It was a command, not optional. God gave them dominion over the earth. God’s Kingdom on earth was an extension of God’s Kingdom in Heaven. God’s Kingdom went wherever Adam & Eve went.
  1. Satan rebelled. Satan & fallen angels were cast out of heaven and they took authority over the earth by deceiving Adam & Eve. God could have destroyed them but He had already given Adam & Eve dominion over the earth.
  1. Jesus came in the form of a man & retrieved what had been given away. He defeated Satan by rising from the dead – victory over sin and death.
  1. When we accept Jesus’ grace & forgiveness, we become an heir of God, a brother / sister to Jesus, a child of God. We share Jesus victory over Satan and have total access to Jesus’ delegated authority which Jesus took back from Satan when Jesus rose from the dead.
  1. Jesus, towards the end of His time here on earth, tells His disciples that “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater than these” (John 14:12). Matthew 28:17 has Jesus saying, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go…” He gives us the authority to do what He has been doing.

For today:

Matthew 16:18-19 says, “… I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be what is bound in Heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.”

Friends – we have permission from God. We have been given authority to go after that on earth that is not from God. Basically anything on earth that isn’t like that in heaven needs transformation and we have the authority to go after it and change it.

Jesus prayed, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”

For us to see the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, it will require us to go after it wholeheartedly. This is not for the faint hearted. Matthew 11:11 says, “And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the Kingdom of Heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force.” I am not advocating violence. Here it is talking about violence as chasing after it with zeal and intense exertion. To press into it with fervour resembling violence and desperation. It expresses the earnestness that we need to have to be rid of all sin and unbelief in our life and to rid this earth of all power belonging to Satan.

Do you want to see God’s Kingdom established here on earth, here in your life? Do you want to see healing restored back to its rightful place as part of the normal Christian life?

Are you chasing after bringing Heaven (& all that is in Heaven eg health, freedom, love, peace, joy, extravagance etc) to earth?

How could you change your life or your belief system so what Christ commanded us to do and be, actually occurs within your lifestyle?

When Jesus Christ was on earth, He gave His disciples authority over demons, nature/weather, death, sickness, sin, poverty and everything that wasn’t in Heaven. We are given the same authority but it seems to be unusual to see us exhibiting that same authority that the disciples had and used.

For us to operate from a position of authority requires us to have some experience in that area. Heidi Baker prays with authority for anyone who is blind as she knows that they will obtain their sight. When Heidi Baker first began praying for blind people, she did not see any difference though for the first 100 blind people she prayed for.

But she persevered.

She then saw breakthrough and she now operates in amazing authority whenever eye problems are an issue.

What prevents us as Christians from operating in that realm and with that same authority?

I believe when we spend time with God and are intimate with God and truly know the Father’s heart for us, then we can’t help but know that He wants people healed and has given us that responsibility and authority.

Out of our identity and our intimacy with Father God comes our authority.

When we have a faulty belief system, it definitely shows up here. How we view and believe what God can and will do, certainly impacts the authority we operate in. When we believe that God is always good and wants to heal and can heal anything, it changes the way we pray for people and what we pray.

Next week I will look at some of the beliefs we have around healing.

 

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Have paper and pens/pencils handy. Each person choose a neighbour. Ask God to show you what to write or draw (if a drawing, perhaps an adult can write what the drawing is about at the top) that will bless them and encourage them on a sheet of paper for that neighbour. Then post it in their letterbox or hand deliver it to them.

2. Group Activation: Have a device to play music on for a game of “Bob’s and Statues”. Explain the activation and then start playing the music. People are to walk or dance around the room. When you stop the music, have everyone either bob down or stand still as a statue. Have the caller with their back to the people so they can’t see what people are doing and they call out either “bob” or “statue” after the music stops and people have moved into their desired action. Those people that did the action that was called out are ‘safe’ and continue to the next round. Those people who did the opposite action to what was called out have to pair up and give each other a prophetic word based on a famous statue.

3. Beginner Activation: Ask God to tell you what He thinks of you at the moment. Listen and wait for His reply.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to show you a teenager who is sitting exams at the moment. Deliver a prophetic word to them about their future that will encourage and comfort them during this time.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to show you someone with special needs. Spend time with God asking Him for a prophetic word for this person. Ask God how to deliver this prophecy to them and when.

What if my mind goes blank when I go to prophesy?

Has your mind ever gone blank when you have been faced with having to immediately give a prophetic word to someone?

Mine has.

Often.

I am on our church’s prophetic team and we are often involved in a prophetic presbytery. Our church sets it up with a number of teams comprising of 2 people who prophesy over a person for a maximum of 5-6 minutes. We have a line of people waiting to receive a prophetic word. As soon as you & your partner have finished prophesying over a person, that person leaves and the next person in line moves forward to come to an available team. We begin by introducing our names and ask if they have a recording device if they don’t already have it in front of them ready to go. I usually get a sense of something from God immediately for the person and, as I speak it out, more comes. I am also learning to wait for a minute before I speak so as to try to get more of the detail and a greater depth to it. There are some occasions, though, when I don’t get anything and my mind is blank.

I used to be often teemed up with different people who wouldn’t speak first but liked to wait for me to go first. This gave them confidence plus they were sometimes seers and saw pictures and they tended to like several minutes to ask God more about those pictures before they spoke. The last few years I have usually been teemed up with a person who is relatively new to giving prophetic words and wants to hear what I have to say first or who is not 100% confident in giving prophetic words to people. Unfortunately, since we are usually limited time-wise, we don’t have the luxury of having a long pause before we start speaking the prophetic word.

What do I do in those circumstances if my mind is blank and I don’t have ‘anything’ for them?

The first thing I do is to turn my heart and affections to Jesus. I silently worship God. Praise shifts the atmosphere. Psalm 100:4 says “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise”. If I want to enter into His presence and see what He is seeing and hear what He is saying, praise and thanks will do that.

I then ask God how He sees this person and how He wants to show love to them right now? If I’m still finding it hard to connect, I ask God how He sees this person dressed, what their strengths are, if the person was a tree what sort of tree they would be and what sort of fruit they would be producing etc. I also ask God what this person’s identity in Heaven is ie how is this person known in Heaven?

If I’m still finding it hard to get a prophetic word for this person, I then picture them standing under a Holy Spirit waterfall. I imagine them standing there with the Holy Spirit flowing down over them and I ask the Holy Spirit what it is that the Holy Spirit is showering upon them.

Bear in mind, this usually occurs within 10-30 seconds. If I was at home writing a prophetic word out for someone, I take a lot longer. Thus, in situations like the Prophetic Presbytery’s, I find it invaluable to have a list of questions to ask God in my mind, ready to ‘pull on’ and get God’s perspective for the person.

To summarise and put it in a list format, the questions I have ready to ask God include:

  • How does God see this person?
  • How does God want to show love to them right now?
  • How does God see this person dressed?
  • What are their strengths?
  • If the person was a tree what sort of tree they would be and what sort of fruit they would be producing?
  • What this person’s identity is in Heaven ie how is this person known in Heaven?
  • If this person was standing under a Holy Spirit waterfall, what is it Holy Spirit that you are pouring over them and filling them with and why?

Upon reflection, the times I find hard, I need to take a further moment to not rush things. I also need to look at my preparation. How have I prepared and what have I done in the preparation for giving prophetic words? These questions challenge me and help me be ‘switched on’ immediately to release God’s word out of my mouth for these folk.

I know from past experience that when I have feasted on God’s Word in the lead up to giving prophetic words to people, parts of Scripture will come back to me as I prophesy and will be relevant to that person. There is definitely a key in the preparation process to be spending time with God and nurturing my intimacy with Him.

What do you find helps you when you have a ‘blank’ mind when you go to give someone a prophetic word?

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Have pre-prepared sheets of paper with an outline of a person drawn on them and some crayons etc. Ask everyone to select someone they are sitting opposite to and to then ask God how God sees this person dressed in God’s Kingdom. Then encourage everyone to draw what they see, hear or sense on the outline of the person. Encourage everyone to give the sheet to their partner and explain what it is about.

2. Group Activation: Break into groups of 6-8 people. Ask everyone to place something from their pocket or handbag in the centre of their group.  Ask everyone to try not to look at what people are placing in the centre. Then ask everyone to pick up an item from the centre and then take it in turns to prophesy over the object and the person whom the object belongs to.

3. Beginner Activation: Spend some time with God on your own and ask God to highlight to you your life as a fruit tree. Then ask God some questions in relation to this – what does the tree look like? Which sort of fruit? How much fruit? How deep are the roots? What does the tree need at the moment? What season is the fruit tree in at the moment? Spend time asking God further questions and seeking clarification.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to highlight to you someone who lives on their own. Spend time with God asking Him to show you that person’s future. Try and formulate with God a song title that would emulate that person’s future as God has shown you.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to highlight to you a certain person or people who are currently in a war zone. Ask God to give you a prophetic declaration and decree that you can pray out aloud for these people.

What if I get it wrong when I Prophesy?

I have seen a number of people almost paralysed with fear when it comes to prophecy. The fear of getting it wrong or mishearing what God is communicating can be paralysing to some people and is enough to prevent them from stepping out and having a go.

One of the most common questions I get asked is “What if I get it wrong when I prophesy?”

Personally I don’t think it is the right question to ask. This question makes it all about me. What if  “I”  get it wrong?

Prophesy is not a performance. It is not about us. We are the conduit that is acting for that brief period of time between God and the person being prophesied over. It’s like helping someone unwrap a present from God for themself.

Sure, our ‘conduit’ can be mucky with sin or not hearing, seeing, sensing God correctly or to the fullest, but we can still be a conduit to the best of our ability. This also means that we need to represent Father God correctly – in our manner, the way the prophecy is conveyed plus the words we use. When we prophesy, we also convey the heart of God.

It is a great practice to never say “God told me….”. Instead, it is far more effective, more correct and less spiritually abusive to say “I have a sense that ….” No matter who we are, we are not perfect and we are not God. Thus, we need to be careful to not communicate that we are God, that we are a perfect ‘filter’ and the word we have released is a perfect representation of what Father God wants that person to know.

If you are scared that you may get the prophetic word wrong, stop looking at yourself and start looking to God. Get your eyes on God and your thoughts on God. Shift your thinking.

1 Corinthians 14:3 says that prophecy is always encouraging, comforting and strengthening. If what you communicate to someone else is encouraging, comforting and strengthening, then if perhaps you mis-hear God slightly, you have still encouraged and comforted the person.

I find that when I ask God for His heart for the person, He always shows or tells me something for them.

 

The starting point is always God, not yourself.

 

It is a privilege to be part of the process of releasing a prophetic word. In the Bible in Numbers 22-23, God used a donkey. If we don’t step up to the occasion, God will still get the message to the person but will use someone else or another means, even a donkey!!

 

How can I be the cleanest or purist conduit I possibly can be:

  1. Decrease the amount of ‘junk’ in my life.

Be careful with what I see, what I read, what I listen to, who I am around. What goes in to our mind and heart, will come out.

  1. Keep short accounts with God

Run from sin. Deal with sin quickly. Confess sin. Repent. Make restitution. Forgive quickly and completely. Then change my behaviour, my attitudes, my thoughts, my patterns.

Ultimately, God can easily bypass us and go straight to the person and this is what we need to encourage – people hearing from God for themselves. People spending time with God, reading His Word, chatting with God, listening to Him for themselves.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Have a present pre-wrapped and place in the middle of the table. Hand out paper and crayons, pens etc. Let everyone choose someone whom they think God would like to give a present to. Then ask them to imagine from God what is in that present to the person they selected. Draw or write on your sheet of paper what that is. Then give the paper to the person concerned, explaining what it is.

2. Group Activation: Ask people to get into pairs. Have a large bag in the middle of the room. Ask everyone to imagine themselves putting their hand into the bag and pulling something out of the bag from God for their partner. Encourage people to ask God further questions about what they pulled out of the bag and why. Allow people a few minutes then ask them to share with their partner what they pulled out and anything else God showed them about it.

3. Beginner Activation: Ask God to show you three books in your imagination. The three books represent your past, your present and your future. Ask God to show you the title of each book. Ask God any further questions you may have about those book titles.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to show you someone who is angry. Ask God to then show you His heart for them and what He would have you pray or communicate to this person.

5. Advanced Activation: Identify a local area where crime is a huge issue. Begin to seek God for His heart for that area. Begin to bless that area. Ask God to give you a prophetic word for that area. Even go to that area and begin to bless it, talk to people there, prophesy over the people you meet there. Decree and declare God’s heart for that area. Release joy over the area.

Our Responsibility when Prophesying

DiggingI was tired. We had had a late night the night before. I had had an extremely busy week. I was on the team prophesying in pairs to individuals after the church service. I love prophesying and seeing people get a taste of what God thinks of them and His heart for them and how it can impact them greatly. I love helping to ‘unlock the gold’ within each person. This morning, we had prophesied well. The words had been accurate, encouraging, comforting. Many had tears as they listened and tried to take it all in. Most of the other teams had finished and left. My partner and I were still there, plus another team comprising my hubby and another team member. I glanced at my watch and realised that we had to get going as we had a luncheon appointment to be at. Plus, I was exhausted. The adrenaline was ‘running out’.

We finished with the lady we were prophesying over and then I saw someone else approach the front. My heart sank. This lady turned up every month for a prophetic word. I had given her several over the last six months and I could feel an ‘injustice’ (& a judgemental spirit) rise within me. Why was this person so ‘needy’? She should really chase after God for herself and not continually try and receive a prophetic word from others for herself. My judgemental attitude really kicked in. She approached for a prophetic word and my mouth opened and asked her about what she had done with all the other prophetic words she had received from us over the last 12 months. It was totally inappropriate of me. I was reacting out of my tiredness and frustration with people who chase after prophetic words and don’t do the hard yards putting in time with their own relationship with God. This lady responded by saying that she hadn’t received any prophetic words from us before. I was flabbergasted as I was sure that she had as I could clearly remember prophesying over her several times. My response did not communicate God’s heart as I turned and whispered to my partner that I needed to go. I called over the team leader and shared my response and my team leader kindly stepped in to give a prophetic word with my partner to this lady.

It’s fantastic that we can hear, see or feel God and what He wants to communicate to us and through us, but if we are not aware of the responsibility that comes with this, then we can hurt people. Plus, we can fall in to the trap of not representing God’s heart well. The goal of prophesying is 1 Corinthians 14:3 – to encourage, comfort and strengthen. Our role is to represent Father God well. To communicate his truth, love and heart for others in a manner that befits Him well.

On the day I was prophesying as described above, I did not represent the Father’s heart well. Sure, there was an identity issue with the lady concerned as she was always chasing after a prophetic word instead of listening to God for herself, but that doesn’t justify my response.

Below I have listed some of our responsibilities we need to incorporate when we are prophesying over other people.

  1. Be Prepared

Make sure you are on top of your game by having an early night the night before. Check your heart and confess sin. Keep short accounts with people and forgive quickly. What you take in affects your heart and mind so be careful what you watch and hear. Live a pure life. Devour the Bible. Keep your relationship with Father God, Holy Spirit and Jesus as number one in your life.

  1. Treat each person with dignity. Respect and honour the person.

They are a child of God. We need to see them through the Father’s eyes and have compassion on them and share the Father’s heart for them. They are a child of God. When we prophesy, it is not just about what we say but about what we communicate as a whole and how the person felt loved. We are communicating God’s heart to them.

This becomes evident with

  • how we speak ie the tone of our voice, the volume, intonations etc
  • what we say,
  • our body language and what that is communicating,
  • who is around when we share and how ‘public’ we say it ie the volume we use and how many others can hear what is personal for this individual especially if it is something they would not want others to hear.
  1. The prophetic word and how we communicate it must be encouraging, strengthening and comforting.

Thus we don’t prophesy anything negative. If we receive a ‘word of knowledge’ that is negative, we turn it around 180o and prophesy the positive.

  1. Ask permission first.

Do not just presume that because you think you have a prophetic word for someone, that they want to hear it. You need to ask their permission to share it with them. They may say no and you need to respect that. Also, please do not touch the person eg on the arm, shoulder etc without first asking permission to put your hand there.

  1. Stop when God stops.

When you stop hearing from God, stop. Do not add any extra. Do not add your spin (or hobby horse/pet topic) on it or try to expand or explain it. On the other hand, God loves questions, so ask God if there is anything more He wants you to communicate.

  1. They have a choice whether or not they accept it or do anything about it.

It is their choice. We cannot dictate what they do or not. If they choose not to do anything about what you have shared that you sense God’s communicating to them, that is totally their choice. You have not failed. You also cannot make them do something about it. We also are not fully aware of their whole situation. Instead, exude grace.

  1. Accountability

We do not have free reign to go up to everyone we have a prophetic word for and share. We need to come under the authority of our church plus any ministry group we are operating under. We also need to make sure that a ‘third person’ is present or that the person records what is said. That is the beauty of mobile phones these days as you can easily record a prophetic word. This is so important for accountability and being above reproach.

  1. We need to use clean language

We don’t say ‘God told me’. Instead, use language that gives the person a ‘way out’ eg ‘I have a sense that…’ Communicating that ‘God told you’ about another person borders on spiritual abuse. It implies that the person needs to do whatever you say otherwise they are not obeying God. That is not fair or correct.

  1. Remember that we prophesy in part.

We do not have full access to everything that God thinks, says, sees and knows. Therefore, there is always more to the story. 1 Corinthians 13:9 says “For we know in part and we prophesy in part.” We never have the full and total picture. That is also why it is helpful to have someone else prophesy with you eg in pairs as that can help spur you on and you can see and hear more of the picture.

  1. Be humble.

We are not God’s gift to mankind. No matter how skilled and accurate we may think we are, humility is important. We are not God. We represent God when we prophesy but we are not God.

  1. We want to make God look great, not the prophet look great.

A great question to ponder on is “Why am I wanting to give a prophetic word to that person?” Is it because I want to ‘look’ good?

12.Timing

Is it the right timing to tell the person what you are feeling, sensing, hearing, seeing? Is this God’s timing to release it to that person now? Am I meant to share it with them or is it for me to pray about and intercede for them about this?

 

Prophesying over people is exciting and rewarding to be a part of but it also carries with it the weight of responsibility. Keeping in mind these points means that you will be able to release the Father’s heart in a way that reflects who God is more accurately.

 

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Make or buy the cardboard cut-out shapes of a person’s body. Ask everyone to write a person’s name on each ‘person’ and then a word that God uses to describes that person. Then pray over each person and give the cut-outs to the appropriate people.

2. Group Activation: Pair up and make 2 circles one inside the other and facing towards each other ie one of each pair on the inside circle facing outwards and the other on the outside circle facing inwards. Give everyone 30 seconds to hear, see, or sense one word for the person opposite them and then share that one word with their partner. Then ask the outer circle to move 3 people to the right. Everyone has 30 seconds again to get one word for the person opposite them and to share it with them. Then ask the inner circle to move 3 people to the right. Repeat the process.

3. Beginner Activation: Spend time with God and quieten your heart and mind. Ask God what He would want to give you or if there is something He would like to place in your right hand at the moment. Ask Father God more questions about this eg why that object, what is it for, what does it look like etc

4. Intermediate Activation: Prophesy over yourself. Focus on God and imagine yourself somewhere with Him. Start your recording device and begin to prophesy over yourself what Father God thinks of you and feels for you and His plans for your life.

5. Advanced Activation: Record yourself the next time you prophesy over someone. Ask them permission first. When you have finished, spend some time later re-listening to what you said. Ask God if there was anything else He would have liked you to add. Listen and pay attention to how you prophesied and how you communicated God’s heart for the person.

When I can’t hear God for myself?

My 13 year old son has recently joined Air Force Cadets and, on Anzac Day, as I watched him march with his unit, I began crying. Not sobbing but crying enough that my response shocked me. Why was I crying? When anything unexpected occurs, I try to ask God “What did that trigger in me?” or “Why did I respond like that?” or “What’s underneath that emotion?”

Nothing came. My mind was spinning with a thousand thoughts – was it because our son wanted to join the Defence Force and he may be fighting in a war one day? Was it because…. Numerous what if’s came to mind. But God seemed to be deathly silent in answering me.

I sat with it a bit longer and it suddenly struck me – I think I was asking the wrong question. A more appropriate question was “Was it appropriate the emotion I expressed?” Immediately I heard God’s voice – “Yes. You are extremely grateful for those who served and fought to save this country and your future.”

Wow – I suddenly realised that often when people say to me “I can hear God for others but I find it hard hearing God for myself”, then perhaps they need to change their question.

I encourage you, next time you find it hard hearing God for yourself, to change the question you are asking God.

I believe that there are also several other things we can do so that we open up the communication lines between God and ourselves for ourselves.

Listed below are a few ideas to implement when you feel a blockage in hearing God for yourself.

  1. What am I asking God? Can I reframe my question? Am I asking God the wrong question? Am I wanting to hear a specific answer ie treating God like Santa Claus, thus not hearing God because I’m not hearing what I’m wanting.
  2. Change things up a bit. Do something different. Perhaps put on different worship music. Try spending time with God in nature or a different place than normal. I love going to the beach on a stormy day and ‘feeling’ God in the storm.
  3. Have I been obedient in doing what God has asked of me? This is a question I ask of myself. If I haven’t been obedient in following through on what God has already asked me to do, how can I expect Him to then tell me the next step?
  4. Is there any sin in my life that I am aware of? Sin has an amazing way of blocking the relationship between God and myself.
  5. Facilitate an encounter with God. In your imagination, go to a place where you feel close to God, a place where you hear God’s voice easily. Imagine yourself there. What is it like? What does it feel like, look like, smell like, taste like, sound like? Imagine that Jesus walks to where you are in that place. Look for Jesus in your imagination and imagine that He has a present in His hands for you. Watch Him place it down next to you or place it in your hands. You have a choice what you do next. Do you want to open it? Go ahead and open it. What has Jesus just given you? (Usually something like this can open up those lines of communication between God and ourselves again.) Another encounter to try is to imagine yourself under a waterfall. Look around and feel, hear, smell, see what it is like under that waterfall. Imagine next that that waterfall is God pouring out good stuff over you. What is He pouring over you? Revel in what is being poured over you. Enjoy. Splash around in it. When you finish imaging this, try spending some time just enjoying God for who He is.
  6. Am I prepared to really lean in to God over a longer period of time – fast, meditate, pray over a period of time, enjoy being with God, spend time listening.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Have paper and crayons/pencils ready. Ask everyone to find a partner and ask God to show them what sort of present He wants to give their partner. Encourage them to draw what the outside of the present looks like. Then ask God what the actual present is and draw that. Ask them to give the paper to their partner and share what it was.

2. Group Activation: Play a harder version of Prophetic UNO. You will need some UNO cards (you don’t need the whole pack – just select a few of each colour) and the instructions below copied so that people can easily see them. Take it in turns going around the circle turning over the next card. Follow the instructions as to what to do with that colour card. This works best when the group is about 6-8 people in size. If your group is larger, perhaps form two groups, with enough UNO cards and instructions for each group.

UNO Prophecy Instructions – remember to be encouraging, strengthening and comforting

RED – you give a prophetic word to the person on your left about their financial situation

GREEN – you give a prophetic word to the person on your right about their relationship with someone close to them

BLUE  – you give a prophetic word to the person opposite about something that concerns them

YELLOWyou choose who to give a prophetic word to in the group about their career/employment/job

DRAW 2give any 2 people in the group a prophetic word about their identity

DRAW 4choose 4 people to give you a prophetic word

WILD CARD  – choose whether you give a prophetic word to someone about their destiny or choose someone to give you one about your destiny

3. Beginner Activation: Spend time with God asking Him about something you have felt He has been quiet on. Brainstorm with God several different questions about it. Perhaps facilitate an encounter with God eg present encounter or under a waterfall etc and see if you can hear God easier.

4. Intermediate Activation: Spend time with God asking Him for a prophetic word/picture for me (Jane – the author of this blog). Feel free to email it to me at [email protected]

5. Advanced Activation: In Australia, we are in the lead up to voting for the leadership of the country and for the Prime Minister for the next three years. Spend time with God hearing from Him about this and what He desires. (If you are in another country, please feel free to join with us in Australia and listen to God for what He desires for our nation.) Devise with God a prophetic act to do that ushers in spiritually and physically what’s on God’s heart.

Prophetic Activations – fun, simple, and important.

My biggest growth in the prophetic has come from me practicing prophesying. The most fun, though, has come from doing prophetic activations in a group. It is a great way to build community and, since I value community, I thrive on this.

A prophetic activation is an exercise where you practice and try to develop in the skill of hearing God’s voice for someone else.

I believe that prophetic activations are important in helping us to grow in the prophetic – both for adults and kids. That is why I always include 5 prophetic activations at the end of each of my blogs – one each under kids/families, groups, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Please feel free to do as few or as many as you wish. (The groupings are just a guideline.) For families, I encourage you to set aside one dinner time each week where you can practice prophesying over each other or doing the prophetic activations attached to my blogs.

I also believe that prophetic activations usually work better when they are:

  • fun
  • simple
  • quick

They provide energy and inspiration for group dynamics. Most times they can be done in pairs, sometimes in larger groups. It is also important, I believe, to ask for short feedback or a quick testimony at the end of the game.

Finding a partner:

I try and be creative at getting group members into pairs or small groups when doing an activation. When you are creative with this and people have fun, without it taking too much time or taking the focus away from doing the activations, then it helps relax people and gets them feeling easier about trying new activations. After each question, I get people to find a new partner using a different method, so have a few methods of matching people up ready.

  • I might use ‘find someone born in the same month’ or ‘find someone with the same colour socks on as yourself’ etc.
  • I sometimes use coloured lollies that stain the tongue and I give the lollies out and then people need to find a person with the same colour on their tongue as themselves.
  • I have used the chocolate clinkers and people bite into their clinker and find someone who has the same colour clinker interior as yourself.
  • I usually have a pack of cards / UNO cards handy and give out cards to people so find ‘a person with the same UNO card as you, or same number card with a pack of cards’ etc.
  • A favourite of mine is using a set of animal cards I made up using pictures of animals taken off the internet. I then laminated these cards so I can use them again. I give out the cards and get people to make the noise of the animal that is on the front of their card. They then have to find a partner who is making the same noise as themselves.

Some activations for pairs:

One the group is divided up into pairs, then give everyone a question to ask God about their partner. Give them a limited time to get an answer. After 30 seconds or a minute at the most, get people to share their answer with their partner.

  • God, if my partner was a tree, what tree would they be and why?
  • God, if my partner was a vehicle, what vehicle would they be and why?
  • God, if my partner was some confectionary, what would they be and why?
  • God, what do you see my partner clothed in and why?
  • God, if my partner was something in a supermarket, what would they be and why?
  • God, if a book was written about my partner, what would the title of the book be?
  • God, if my partner starred in a movie, what would the movie be about?
  • God, if my partner was an animal, what animal would they be and why?
  • God, if my partner was a person in a hospital, who would they be ie their role, and why?
  • God, if my partner was something at a playground, what would they be and why or, alternatively, where would they be on the playground and why?

Key points to remember:

As with any prophetic activations, there are a couple of key points to emphasise.

  • Make sure you only speak what is encouraging, edifying or comforting.
  • God speaks back to us instantly, like a friend on the phone. We don’t ask our friend a question and then have to wait 2 minutes to get a reply. We get an answer immediately.
  • A key here is the ‘first thought’ principle. The first thought that flies through your head when you ask God a question, capture that thought. If it is encouraging, edifying or comforting, then go with that thought.
  • God loves questions, so ask God some more questions about the thought that came to you to find out more. Eg why did you show me that God?

Pass the parcel:

Several years in a row for our prophetic group breakup, I organised a game of ‘Pass the Parcel’. I modelled it on the children’s party game. It was a huge hit and we continue to do it annually as it was so successful in both enjoyment and stretching everyone. Since there were about 40 people, I wrapped up 5 different parcels to be passed at the same time. (I wanted maximum effect and practice from the time!)

In every layer of the parcel, I placed an item I had bought from either the supermarket or the $2/discount shop or scavenged from around home. Items included things such as:

  • pen
  • highlighter
  • torch
  • Princess birthday candle
  • toy army men with parachutes attached
  • bath toy – rubber ducky
  • soap
  • packet of mixed lollies
  • chocolate advent calendar
  • a very sharp knife
  • balloon
  • bottle of bubbles to blow
  • a map of the world
  • a can of spam
  • a teabag
  • etc

No item was repeated and there were 9 layers each parcel. Creativity is encouraged so walk around your supermarket and see what catches your eye. I am always astounded at the variety of items I wrap in the parcels and how God uses them to speak to people.

As the music played, the parcels were passed around the circle. When the music stopped, the people holding the parcels had to unwrap the next layer of paper and find the object. They then had to ask God 2 questions – “Who do I give this present to?” and “Why?” They had only 20 – 30 seconds to get their answers. They would then go up to the person God had highlighted and give them the present and say the reason why as a prophetic word. We didn’t go with popular culture and ‘make it fair’ so that everyone got a go of giving and receiving. It was just whoever had the parcel when the music stopped gave the present and prophetic word to the person who they felt God highlighted. Some people received several presents and prophetic words and some received none. The point of the game was to realise that you can see a seemingly insignificant object and use it as a basis for a prophetic word.

Prophetic UNO:

Play “Prophetic UNO”. It works best in groups of 6-8 people. Get a pack of UNO cards. One at a time, turn over the top card. Follow the instructions eg if a red card, then you give a prophetic word to the person on your left. This is most effective when you play it quickly ie people need to start giving a prophetic word within 20-30 seconds of turning over the card. If you have more than 6-8 people, divide into groups with a pack of UNO cards for each group.

UNO Prophecy Instructions

                     RED            – you give a prophetic word to the person on your left

                     GREEN       – you give a prophetic word to the person on your right

                     BLUE          – you give a prophetic word to the person opposite

                     YELLOW    – you choose who to give a prophetic word to in the group

                     DRAW 2    – choose 2 people to give you a prophetic word

                     DRAW 4    – choose 4 people to give you a prophetic word

                     WILCARD – Choose whether you give a prophetic word to someone or choose someone to give you one.

Duck, duck, goose:

Play prophetic ‘Duck, duck, goose’. If it is a group of children, sit on the floor in a circle. If adults, arrange chairs in a circle and ask everyone to sit on a chair. Ask everyone to close their eyes. Walk around behind the group and ‘tap’ one person on the head (or shoulder if more culturally appropriate). This person will know they are the receiver. You will also know but no-one else should be aware since everyone would have had their eyes closed. Ask a leader to be a scribe. Ask everyone else to ask God what He would like to say to this (unknown) person with the scribe taking notes. After 5-6 people have shared, ask the receiver to raise their hand, thus they were the person whom the prophetic words were said about. Pass the written notes to that person for encouragement. Then repeat the process taping someone else on the head/shoulder.

Musical Chairs:

Play musical chairs. Place enough chairs (or if space limited, place coloured pieces of paper) in the middle of the room for everyone playing minus 2 people. Play music and ask everyone to move clockwise around the chairs. When the music stops, everyone runs to sit on a chair. The 2 people without chairs are out. Whilst the music plays for the next round and you remove two more chairs, have those 2 people who just got out, prophesy over each other. The next two people out then prophesy over each other until the remaining two people are the only ones left in the game. They then give each other a prophetic word.

Prophetic Tag:

Choose a person to be ‘the tagger’. They stand in the middle of the room and everyone goes to the other end. These people have to try to get to the other side of the room without being tagged by the person in the centre (the tagger). If someone is tagged, that person has to give ‘the tagger’ (the person who tagged them) a prophetic word. They then become ‘the tagger’ and the previous ‘tagger’ joins the rest of the group trying to cross the room without being tagged. If you have a large group, consider having several people in the middle being ‘taggers’.

Prophetic Ping Pong:

Get into groups of 3. Elect one person to receive the prophetic word. The other 2 people in the group will play ‘prophetic ping pong (or table tennis)’ – one person starts giving a prophetic word, the second person then carries on giving the prophetic word in the same vein of thought, then it returns to person number one to expand even deeper on that thread, then back to number two to expand deeper still. Try not to introduce anything that doesn’t follow that thread. Instead, ask God how you can go deeper with just the one thread of thought. After you finish that one concept/thought etc, switch positions for someone new to receive a prophetic word.

Lucky Dip Bag:

Have a bag that you can’t see through and place a number of items in the bag. Get people to take turns to put their hand in the bag, choose an item and pull it out. They then have 30-60 seconds to ask God who in the group they need to give the item to and why. They then give the item to that person and share how that item relates to them as a prophetic word.

Blindfolded Lucky Dip:

Beforehand, place a number of various supermarket objects in a bag. Pair up everyone and blindfold one person in each pair. This person places their hand in the bag and selects an item. Based on what that item feels like and reminds them of, get each blindfolded person to give a prophetic word over the person standing in front of them. At the end, ask each person who received a prophetic word to give feedback to their blindfolded person based on how accurate and ‘weighty’ the prophetic word felt and whether or not it raised any emotions within.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Find up some magazines with pictures in them that you can cut out. Glue and blank paper will also be needed. Ask each person to think of someone and then find a picture or some words from the magazines that God highlights to them that will communicate God’s heart to that person. Let people cut out the pictures and words and arrange on the piece of paper. Then give the piece of paper to that person.

2. Group Activation: Get people into pairs. As you play a piece of instrumental music, ask God to highlight to everyone something from the music as a starting point for a prophecy over their partner. Ask people to share with their partner.

3. Beginner Activation: Grab a cup of tea or coffee. As you do, ask God to highlight something about your drink to you. Then ask God to show you how this relates to a prophetic word to release over a family member. Share it (the prophetic word) with your family member.

4. Intermediate Activation: Look up the latest movie releases and ask God to highlight one of the movie titles to you. Ask God who this relates to prophetically and why. Contact that person and share with them.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to highlight a major disaster in your state or country. Ask God to show you His perspective on this and what He would love your part to be in helping or prophesying good over the situation.